1. Background The present invention relates to medical devices and methods. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems, devices, methods, and techniques for treating conditions of hollow organs in general. The relief of symptoms caused by overactive urinary bladder is discussed in particular.
Tissue ablation is a known technique for the treatment of various bodily disorders. Currently, ablation is used to eliminate pathological tissue (such as ablation of tumors or skin lesions), to remodel physical structures of tissue (such as in ablation of hypertrophied prostate to alleviate obstruction of urine, or ablation of pharyngeal tissue to alleviate snoring), to eliminate hyperactive normal tissue (renal nerve denervation to reduce blood pressure, uterine ablation to reduce menstrual bleeding), and to modify the electrical conductivity of tissue (such as in treating cardiac arrhythmia). Tissue ablation is often used to treat cardiac rhythm disorders in particular, especially atrial fibrillation. The methods and devices for performing such procedures in a beating heart are documented and described in the art. Many ablation procedures, however, are lengthy, demand visualization, imaging and/or localization, and are typically performed in specialized labs at significant costs. While using ablation of cardiac tissue to modify tissue conductivity within an organ in order to relieve arrhythmia has been known for years, this treatment modality is applied to cardiac tissue out of the belief that only excitable and conductive tissue, such as cardiac tissue can be treated in this way.
Overactive bladder is typically caused by urinary muscle spasms that cause an urgency, often an unstoppable urgency, to urinate. Overactive bladder is common in older adults and is estimated to affect more than one in ten adults in the United States. Current treatments for overactive bladder include bladder training, pelvic floor exercises, and anticholinergics or similar drugs for more difficult cases. Anticholinergics can block the nerve signals related to bladder muscle contraction and can even increase bladder capacity. The use of anticholinergics, however, can result in many side effects such as dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, and increased heart rate. Therefore, anticholinergics are not often recommended for patients with glaucoma, urinary retention, or gastrointestinal problems. Other drug classes may be applied to relax bladder muscles but are often associated with undesirable side effects as well. In extreme cases, surgical procedures are used. These surgical procedures include bladder augmentation, the surgical enlargement of the bladder by addition of intestinal tissue to the bladder tissue, and the implantation of a sacral nerve root stimulator. Such surgical procedures, however, are highly invasive and can involve the permanent implantation of a device which can lead to many related complications.
Thus, improved devices and methods for treatment of urinary disorders are desired. These improved device and methods may be specifically designed to treat symptoms and disorders, including overactive urinary bladder, not traditionally treated with ablation or similar procedures, desirably without the side effects and complications that commonly occur with the use of current drugs and devices.
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